You know it’s been 23 years since I was in Iraq. I deployed when I was 25 years old and had multiple 17/18 year old soldiers under my leadership. Many of them were young husbands and fathers.
I was single. No kids. And when it came time for mid tour leave, I sent every one of them home and passed on mine. While I wasn’t a father yet, I was very attuned to the fact that family is everything.
It’s how I was raised. My grandfather was a World War II vet. He signed up to fight for America as an “illegal immigrant“. And I’m the only other family member who has served.
My ancestors immigrated from their respective countries, fleeing totalitarian regimes, only to come to a country that was riddled with discrimination (Chinese exclusionary act).
Because a discriminatory America was a better opportunity. That’s something you won’t see on the news. But it was the service that Chinese Americans provided in World War II with the help of the American Legion that ended the Chinese exclusionary act.
If you wonder why I am so devoted to health and freedom, that’s a big part of it. If you want to know why my family and I go to the veterans cemeteries on Memorial days and Veterans Day, this is why.
I’ve been sitting with this word a lot lately: FREEDOM.
We say it often. We celebrate it on holidays. We post about it. We use it in speeches.But if you slow it down and really look at it, freedom has never been free.
There are men and women who wake up every day and carry a weight most of us will never understand. They step into danger on purpose so others don’t have to. They miss birthdays, weddings, first steps, final goodbyes. And some of them never come home at all.
That kind of sacrifice deserves more than a thank you. It deserves a pause. A real one. A moment where we actually feel what it costs.
I don’t think we sit with that enough.
We live in a world where there are men and women who swear an oath to protect the rest of us.
We also live in a world where realities of the systemic encroachment on our health and wealth is totally real and arguably the greatest form of enslavement.
Honoring those who make the sacrifice every day, and sometimes the ultimate sacrifice of giving their life for our collective freedoms is everything.
Honoring your lineage with real viable ways of becoming the healthiest and wealthiest you could ever become generationally so your family tree never needs the system if we get the best of both worlds.
And at the same time.. there’s another layer of freedom most people don’t talk about.
The freedom to actually be well.
To raise your kids without constant fear.
To make decisions about your body without pressure or confusion.
To live without feeling like your health is something you have to hand over to a system that doesn’t always see you as a whole person.
A lot of people are exhausted right now. Not just physically, but mentally. Emotionally. Spiritually.
And somewhere along the way, many stopped trusting their own ability to heal, to choose, to think clearly for themselves.
That’s not an accident.
But here’s what I’ve seen again and again in practice:
When people reconnect to their body..
When they start taking care of their nervous system..
When they slow down enough to actually listen to what’s going on inside..
Something shifts.
They become more present. More steady. More alive.
Not perfect. Not “fixed”.
Just more themselves.
And that matters.
Because freedom isn’t only something protected outside of us.
It’s something we have to protect inside of us too.
So yes, we honor the people who have sacrificed everything so we can live with safety and choice.
And maybe the most honest way to honor them.. is to not waste the life we’ve been given.
To take care of it.
To respect it.
To live awake.
From my heart to yours: thank you to every man and woman who has served. You are not forgotten in this.
It has been my oath (since I deployed and could see and feel what it was like to watch American Society downgrade while dodging bullets) to always love my life to honor those who are willing to give theirs for our freedom.
Again, the most radical form of defiance is being so healthy that you never need the system. Because your health potential is the foundation for your life potential.
Build resilient and powerful health so that you can build a wonderful life and your children can achieve all of their dreams.
And to everyone reading this.. don’t just celebrate freedom this month.
Live it.
If you’ve been thinking about taking that first step toward better health, this month is a wonderful time to do it. Our July new patient special is available throughout the month, and we’d be honored to serve you.
With baby number three coming closer every day, we are so grateful to serve you. So that you may be more healthy and free.
Love and appreciate you all ⚡♥️🔥
S